Fly-trap.



S. A. HUNT.

FLY TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15, 1916.

1,212,225. Patented Jan. 16,1917.

Witnesses OFFICE.

STEPHEN A. HUNT, OF (DAV E SPRING, GEORGIA.

FLY-TRAP.

Application filed July 15, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, STEPHEN A. HUNT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cave Spring, in the county of Floyd and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful F ly-Trap, of which the following is a specification. i

The device forming the subject matter of this application is adapted to be employed for scooping flies off the ceiling of a room, when the flies have roosted on the ceiling after nightfall.

One object of the invention is to provide a device of the type described including a receptacle having an opening, and a combined scoop and closure for the opening, novel means being supplied whereby the combined scoop and closure may be manipulated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide novel means for holding the scoop or closure in opened and in closed positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for assembling certain parts of the structure with the socket which receives the handle.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the present invention appertains.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without de parting fromthe spirit of the invention. 7

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 shows in front elevation, a fly trap constructed in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the fly trap; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the fly trap; Fig. a is a top plan of the fly trap, parts being broken away; and Fig. 5 is a fragmental cross section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1, strictly, distant parts being omitted.

In carrying out the present invention there is provided a receptacle 1 which, when the device is in use, is disposed horizontally adjacent the ceiling of a room. The receptacle 1 may be constructed in various ways.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jame, 1917. Serial No. 109,497.

In the present instance, it includes end walls 2 and 3, the wall 3 being provided with a hole AL controlled by a lid 5 mounted to swing on a pivot pin 6 carried by the wall 3. The lid 5 may be supplied with an out standing finger piece 7, facilitating the movement of the lid. Adjacent the top of the receptacle 1, the walls 2 and 3 are connected by a cross brace 8. A foraminous body 9 surrounds the end walls 2 and 3 and constitutes a part of the receptacle 1. The foraminous body 9 is attached by means of securing elements 10 to the peripheries of the walls 2 and 3, and is attached by means of securing elements 11 to the cross brace 8. The ends of the foraminous body portion 9 of the receptacle 1 are spaced apart to define an opening 36, the said ends of the body being carried inwardly, within the contour of the receptacle 1, to define leaders 12 which facilitate the ingress of flies into the receptacle 1, and hinder the egress of flies therefrom.

The invention includes, further, a support which is denoted generally by the numeral 14. In the present embodiment of the in vention, the support 14 includes arms 15 disposed approximately parallel to the axis of the receptacle 1, the arms 15 terminating in vertical upstanding fingers 16 provided with inwardly projecting extensions 17 engaged in openings 18 formed in the end walls 2 and 3 of the receptacle 1. Staples or other securing elements 19 are mounted into the end walls 2 and 3, and hold the fingers 16 of the support 14 to the end walls. At this point it may be noted that the pan ticular extension 17 which enters the end wall 3 acts as a stop for the lid 5, when the same is swung to a closed position. The arms 15 are provided with depending shanks 20, the lower ends of which are bent to form outstanding keepers 21, located at different distances from the receptacle-1that is, the keepers 21 are spaced vertically when the device is in a position for use on the ceiling of a room. The numeral22 desi nates a socket, providedat its upper and lower ends with outstanding eyes 23 through which the shank portions 20 of the support 14: pass, the shanks being located exteriorly of the socket. From the foregoing it will be obvious that the shanks 20 of the support it act as reinforcements for the socket 22. A handle 24 of, any desired length may be inserted into the lower end of the socket 20.

Mounted on the edges of the end walls 2 and 3 of the receptacle 1 are bearings '25 in which are journaled for rocking movement, shafts 26 located at the ends of a scoop 27 which constitutes a closure for the opening 36 in the body 9 of the receptacle 1. The scoop 27 preferably is'beveled on its upper face, as shown at 28, to define an edge 29. The lower face of the scoop 27 carries a loop 30, engaged loosely with the loop 31 formed at the upper end of an actuating member 32, the actuating member 32 thus being pivotally connected with the scoop 27 The actuating member 32 preferably is in the form of a flexible rod, passing through the lower portion of the body 9 of the receptacle 1, and slidable longitudinally there- At the upper end of the socket 22 there is formed an outstanding guide 38, through which the'actuating member or rod 32 passes slidably. The lowerend of the actuating member 32 is fashioned into a finger piece whereby longitudinal movement may be imparted to the actuating member, the finger piece being denoted by the reference numeral 34:- Above the finger piece 34, the actuating member 32 is supplied with an eye 35 adapted to cooperate with the keepers 21 in a manner which will be set forth herein after. If desired, the shanks 20 may be twisted together, as shown at 37, about the socket 22, for the sake of strength.

In practical operation, the actuating member 32 is pushed upwardly by means of the finger piece 34:, the scoop 27 thus being disposed in a partially open position. The eye 35 on the actuating member 32 is then engaged with the uppermost keeper 21, the scoop 27 being held in this way in an open position. If the receptacle 1 is moved along horizontally by means of the handle 24:, with the edge 29 of the scoop 27 in contact with the ceiling of a room, the flies which have roosted on the ceiling will be engaged by the scoop and will be directed through the opening 36, between the leaders 12. As a matter of actual test, between two and three thousand flies have been taken within one minute, by the operation above described. When a suflicient number of flies have been imprisoned within the receptacle 1, the actuating member 32 may be pulled downwardly, the eye 35 being engaged with the lowermost keeper 21, to hold the scoop 27 in such a position that'it will onstitute a closure for the opening 36. The flies in the receptacle 1 may be burned or otherwise destroyed, since the body 9 is made of netting. The dead flies in the receptacle 1 may be dumpedout through the hole l in the end wall 3, the lid 5 being moved to an open position.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is l. A device for collecting flies'from a ceiling and including a receptacle having an opening; a movable scoop located adjacent the opening; a support assembled with the receptacle; and an actuating member connected with the scoop to move the same toward and away from opened and closed positions.

2. A device for collecting flies from a ceiling and including a receptacle having an opening; a scoop located adjacent the opening and pivotally connected along one edge with a receptacle; a handle for the receptacle; and means assembled with the scoop for moving the scoop toward and away from closed positions with respect to the opening.

3. A device for collecting flies from a ceiling and including a receptacle having an opening; a movable scoop pivotally assembled with the receptacle and located adjacent the opening; a support assembled with the receptacle; an actuating member pivotally connected with the scoop; and means for mounting the actuating member for longitudinal sliding movement on the support.

41. A device for collecting flies from a ceiling and including a receptacle having an opening; a movable scoop located adjacent the opening; an actuating member connected with the scoop and constituting means for moving the scoop toward and away from the opening; a support connected with the receptacle; and interengaging elements on the support and on the actuating member for holding the actuating member in adjusted positions, thereby to maintain the scoop in an open position and in a closed position with respect to the opening.

5. A device fOr collecting flies from a ceiling and including a receptacle comprising end walls and a body connected with the end walls, the transverse edges of the body being spaced apart to define an opening, and being extended inwardly toward the axis of the receptacle, to form leaders; a combined scoop and closure for the opening pivoted to the end walls; a support for the receptacle; and an actuating member connected with the scoop, and constituting means for moving the scoop toward and away from opened and closed positions with respect to the opening.

6. A device for collecting flies from a ceiling and including a receptacle havin an opening; a movable scoop adapted to form a closure for the opening; an actuating member connected with the scoop; a socket; and a support connected with the receptacle, the support including shanks interengaged with the socket to serve as braces therefor, the shanks being provided with keepers spaced at different distances from the receptacle; and the actuating member being provided with means for engaging either keeper, thereby to hold the scoop in an open position or in a closed position.

her being provided with means for engaging either keeper, thereby to hold the scoop in an open position or in a closed position with 15 respect to the opening.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN A. HUNT.

Witnesses:

Mrs. JAs. J. SIMPSON, J. W. BRANCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

' Washington, I). G. 

